1. Field of the Invention
The invention refers to a vehicle door latch with a locking mechanism, comprising also at least an operating lever and a locking lever.
2. Description of Related Art
In a vehicle door latch of the above described embodiment, as, for instance, disclosed in DE 100 38 151 C2, the locking lever can be directly coupled with the operating lever, at least for taking up its locking position. This is carried out as part of a first stroke of the operating lever. As part of a second stroke, the respective vehicle door latch or its locking mechanism can now be opened. Such a two-stroke operation has proven to be successful and also in connection with an optical child lock and/or double lock system. It is, however, at this point required to first of all move the double lock and/or child lock into their “off” position, in order to unlock the locking mechanism. That is costly.
Also, a two-part operating lever, as disclosed in Patent Application DE 101 64 484 is known, which must only be taken into consideration in accordance with §3 (2) PatG. This does, however, not provide a solution for the above problem.
This means that for such vehicle door latches with two-stroke movement of the operating lever for unlocking and opening the locking mechanism, it is still necessary to first move a double lock system and/or child lock system into the “off” position, so that the positions “unlocked” and then “opened” of the locking mechanism can then be assumed. In addition, the solution according to DE Patent Application 101 64 484 is based on a relatively costly design and a considerable number of components.
Prior art also discloses systems with two-stroke and single-stroke operation. In case of a two-stroke operation, an associated locking mechanism or the vehicle door latch is, first of all, unlocked as part of a first stroke and then opened during a second stroke. The single-stroke operation ensures, on the other hand, unlocking and opening during a single stroke. Both methods are realized with different and, in parts, complicated lever mechanisms. This is costly and this is what the invention aims to remedy.